My Ritual Experience

Good grief. I've been tossing and turning in bed for the past 2 hours and can't get back to sleep 😡

I slept at 11+ and woke up at 1am feeling thirsty as hell so I went to get a drink. Ever since then, I can't fall back asleep.

Turn here turn there also not optimum position. Both legs under the blanket.. too hot. Both legs out.. too cold. One leg in one leg out... shiok but gets cold again really quickly. ARGGHHGHH

I kept forcing myself to fall asleep cos I made an appointment with a friend to hit the gym before work starts but now that I'm STILL awake, I simply can't get up at 7am. Sorry willpower not there yet 😣

But I've been diligently hitting the gym for a couple of months now for about twice a week. I'm trying to increase my sessions so I can get better results but it's not easy man.

Each time I go, my recovery time takes 2 days or more. I'm trying to get myself familiar with Active Recovery so we'll see how it goes tomorrow since I'm aching quite badly from Monday's workout. Heh

Anyways, I thought I wanna share a little about the gym I'm going to cos I really like the concept of this place and the community around it. This is not a sponsored post but just one of those good things must share kinda thing lah

So this is the gym I've been going to - Ritual Gym.

It's essentially a 30-minute (actually less than that. I'll get to this in a bit) HIIT session.

So... when I heard about this way of working out, I was like "30 mins enough meh?"

Apparently, it is. I've come to learn it's not about the time spent; it's about the quality of effort you put in that period.

If you make every single rep count and give it your best, then 30 mins is really enough.

But talk is cheap lah hahahaha. We be like "Ok what. Just do your best at every rep and set can liao."

You'll be amazed at how such simple exercises can be of a huge impact to your body.

Each session will have a routine based all these 9 exercises. The no. of reps and sets vary on the intensity of each of them. So basically, every day is a different workout and you wouldn't know what's going to be the routine as it's not fixed.

The best part (there are a few for me) is that there is a session every half an hour, with a max of 10 pax per session. And in each session, there is an instructor (or 2, depending on how many people are in the session) to make sure your form is correct as that is SUPER important.

If your form is off, not only are you not working the right muscle group(s), you might end up hurting yourself so having the instructors there is really helpful.

Plus the fact that they are super encouraging, it really helps with motivating yourself to push yourself that little bit more!

Next question I asked myself was "Shit my fitness level is practically zero. And the equipment like quite pro. Do I need any form of fitness level to even be at Ritual?"

TBH, I was super intimidated by this setup. It looked damn legit and didn't think I'm "fit enough" to be there.

It took me a while to overcome this intimidation and went ahead with trying the gym out. So when I eventually got there, there was nothing to be scared of!!!

Firstly, before you join Ritual, you'd need to do a fitness assessment, just to see how fit you are. Don't worry, it's nothing scary. Just very simple exercises.

Once that's done, the instructor will recommend which level you can start off when working out at Ritual.

There are 3 levels at Ritual, 1 being the easiest. I started out with mostly doing exercises from Level 1. 6 months later, I am very proud to say that I do most exercises on level 2 now, depending on how strong I feel on that day also lah 😬

So with that recommendation, you start off the sessions and keep increasing weights and intensity.

The whole point is not to get comfortable cos if gym is comfortable, then you are kinda wasting your money 😅

Each session clocks in about 20-25 mins of work and once that's done, you can hit the showers.

There's also a Fuel Bar at Ritual to make sure you get nourished after the workout too.

Oh I forgot mention another thing I love about Ritual!!!

They provide workout clothes, water and even toiletries!!!

Initially I wore my own gear then I saw everyone in the Ritual workout clothes so I left mine at home hahahaha. It's just a basic tee and shorts, comfy enough for a workout although I wear my own leggings for more support.

There's drinking water provided to make sure you are adequately quenched after your workout.

So really, all you have to do is just show up hahaha. They take care of EVERYTHING else.

Another question I had was "Oh man, it's a mixed gym. Is this going to be uncomfortable or what?"

Working out with guys, still not so bad. Cos you are so in the zone that you can't be bothered. And tbh, most of the time, it's like 80% women and 20% men so yay, we are the majority in the gym haha

In the showers... it's ok actually. Cos each shower has a wet and dry area so there's no reason for any half naked man/woman to walk around.

So yeah... this worry was totally unwarranted hahaha

Initially, I joined Ritual cos I wanted to lose weight. I've gained quite a bit since I got married, so I just wanted to get back into that shape.

As I went along in this journey, my mindset slowly shifted. It became a journey for me to get stronger. I realized I can easily go back to that shape simply by starving myself but what's the point in that? I wouldn't be physically strong, and more importantly, I wouldn't be healthy.

I'm not sure of the change in mentality... must have been all the fitspo shit I've been following hahaha but yeah, it changed my mentality so much.

With that, it taught me to learn to love my body and curves more, to be confident and not be self conscious. I'm still learning how to fully love my shape but I'm happy that I took the first step.

I totally didn't expect this at all. I just wanted to lose weight 😂 But I'm glad it happened 😊

I genuinely do recommend them if you are looking to get toned and strong. It may be difficult at first but as with all new journeys, the first step is always the hardest. Once that step is taken, it just gets easier :)

If you are keen, you can sign up for trials over at their website - www.ritualgym.com

Hope you enjoyed this post about Ritual. Drop me a comment if you have a question or if you go to Ritual, do holla!

My first proper meal of the day!!!

So usually I go to the gym before work but since I couldn't sleep last night, i rescheduled it during lunchtime.

I had a small snack in the morning with my ginger lemon honey tea. My lunch was a milkshake from Ritual after the workout..

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This was my shake. Regretted ordering the small one cos I was FAMISHED but ok la it lasted me till about now haha

Wanted to save my salad for 7+ but too hungry so decided to eat early 😬

Which means I'll get hungry at 9+ 😫

I found myself getting hungrier after my sessions at Ritual and that's a good sign. I think? Maybe I should check in with the instructors to make sure it's normal hahaha

Day 74

Wednesday, 15 Mar 2017

90 28

roseline Thanks for sharing! what's the cost like? is it too high to be shared (as it might put off people)? 😅 noticed the website didn't show too

5 months ago

tofulove Hello! How does their gym subscription works? Monthly? And how's the cost like? :)

5 months ago

poutylips I'm actually gyming at ritual raffles! One of the best investments in my life!

5 months ago

lianmeiting Sounds good but.....I can't do morning!!! Else we can go together lo

5 months ago

happybones F45 training is similar to ritual but it's 45mins instead. Perhaps you can find a studio closer to home/work to increase your sessions!

5 months ago

jaynetham Hey @roseline@tofulove the cost is a bit high, seeing how everything is really catered to you that you literally just have to show up. I think their prices changed since I signed up, not too sure but they will share prices with you upon your first assessment :) And yes they do monthly subscriptions with rates for peak and off peak hours.

5 months ago

jaynetham@poutylips ikr!! I never thought I'd stick it out this long at a gym but Ritual kinda changed my life hahahaha #suchdrama how long have you been going to Ritual?

jaynetham@happybones oh I heard about F45 too!! They have quite a few outlets right? How's the costing like? Do they accept drop-ins?

5 months ago

happybones Yeah they have quite a number of studios! Can sign up for their free 2 week trial, I think different studios have different trial offers. They have 1($40) or 10 class passes ($350 I think) and weekly/monthly subscriptions.